New order in UAAP?

There is an audit firm reviewing the UAAP Constitution and By-Laws with the intention of submitting a comprehensive report to the school presidents on how to make the charter relevant, responsive and reflective of the values that every student athlete is expected to uphold.

The audit was reportedly triggered by the disenchantment of several school presidents on the way the UAAP Board has been managed through the years arbitrarily and without reporting responsibility or accountability by a group of trustees. A source confided that a provision in the By-Laws grants absolute authority for the trustees to decide on issues without intervention or veto power from school presidents.

Apparently, accusations of high-handedness reached the ears of school presidents who are finally putting their foot down to stop the machinations and manipulations of the Board. Cases of horse-trading, gerrymandering and even lack of ethics have been talked about. Of course, the trustees deserve their day in court and that’s why the audit team is leaving no stone unturned in its review. This season, the UAAP Board outdid itself by issuing decisions that drew at least two TROs from aggrieved parties who decried the alleged violation of human rights. 

  It’s a positive sign that school presidents now want to get involved in Board affairs. They’ve been kept out of the loop for too long, unfortunately at the expense of the reputation of some schools. It’s not certain if the arrival of the audit team was prompted by a San Francisco junket paid for by the UAAP’s covering TV network as a treat for the trustees this year.  

In the NCAA, a Policy Board composed of school presidents looks over the shoulders of the Management Committee. In the UAAP, there is no counterpart of a Policy Board. That’s why the UAAP Board has full discretion to make decisions even on game-related issues whether the Commissioner likes it or not. This season, the Board went overboard in reinstating a suspended player hours before a game, implementing eligibility rules with immediate effectivity (when the usual practice is to implement after a year) and sanctioning individuals without due process. Backroom alliances to protect parochial interests make for a highly politicized Board where the rightfulness of a particular issue may no longer be the critical factor of decision-making.

A UAAP trustee said yesterday the Board’s amendments committee will meet soon to suggest revisions of rule changes for next season. The timing may come in line with the audit firm’s recommendations. Issues that should be revisited are the tenure of the Commissioner, the recruitment of imports (should it be stopped?), eligibility rules (when are they effective?) and the absence of Board accountability to school presidents.

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 Southwestern University coach Yayoy Alcoseba, who won the national intercollegiate title with the University of San Jose Recoletos in 1985, made history by taking the Cobras to the finals of the recent Philippine Collegiate Champions League. It was the first time Southwestern advanced to the title playoffs and the second for a Cebu varsity after the University of the Visayas in 2007.

Alcoseba said the Cobras had a chance to extend the best-of-three finals to the limit but a technical foul broke Southwestern’s momentum in the fourth period of Game 2 against La Salle. The Archers took advantage of the stumble to expand a five-point lead to 17 with about three minutes left and put the title on ice. A shallow bench proved to be Southwestern’s major handicap with four key players logging at least 30 minutes in the clincher – skipper Monbert Arong, MVP Mark Tallo, Cameroon import Landry Sanjo and Fil-Canadian spitfire Adam Mohammed. Tallo, a former Archer, finished with 15 points, two rebounds, eight assists and no turnover in 36 minutes. He is reportedly being recruited by a UAAP contender. Alcoseba’s assistant is Gilas national coach Chot Reyes’ brother Mike who said he couldn’t be happier living in Cebu. La Salle captured the crown by sweeping the finals, 64-54 in Game 1 and 70-61 in Game 2.

One of Alcoseba’s newcomers is Fil-Am Melvin Holper whose brother Mike used to play in the PBA and is now taking up residency as a physical therapist in Arizona in preparation for a doctorate program in San Diego. Holper, 22, was invited by Cobra player Francis Ortega, a friend from way back, to play for the varsity and arrived in Cebu last April. He sat out the CESAFI tournament while learning Alcoseba’s system. In Southwestern’s upset over La Salle to start the Final Four, Holper knocked down 3-of-3 treys, including two in overtime.